We will explore hornpipes, both traditional old style and Sean-nos inspired steps. Over the month each of will work on creating our own steps and style for dancing to hornpipes.
week 1
WEEK 1 | Class notes
week 2
WEEK 2 | Class notes
week 3
WEEK 3 | Class notes
Week 3. Find a tune that you like dancing to and put steps to the tune. Hornpipe steps, reel steps, jig or slide steps. You can create steps or create a routine or just improv to the tune.
Endurance – 15-30 min (depending on the style/material)
Our Endurance sessions will vary in length depending on the style of dance and material. I will create a playlist of tunes/dances that we will dance at full tempo. You can follow along with the specific dance or you can just dance to the music with the steps you have. Think of this as a full rehearsal of material or session dancing. The idea is to build up your endurance as if you were on stage dancing a full performance.
Keep Her Lit sessions are back as well. These sessions are designed to help you keep your reputaru fresh and ready to do. We will be rehearsing complete dances from past courses. We will work on having clean transitions and perfecting a whole dance for performance or dancing in sessions.
Woodshedding is back! Woodshedding is a term musicians use when referring to practicing and working on specific parts of a tune. We will be doing this with our dancing.
The woodshedding sessions focus on one step or technique from class. We will drill material from class and work on tone, tenquice and speed. You can attend live or recorded. Each of these sessions will be good practice sessions to accompany your class. Over the years I have found that the biggest challenge for students is practicing. This is why I have decided to offer guided practice. My hope is to help you build the habit of practicing by offering accountability and videos to guide you. Over time as you build this habit you may find yourself creating your own practicing sessions and developing a daily habit of practice. But that is the future down the road, I will do all the work of planning a daily practice.
Tuesday June 7, 2022 – St. Patrick’s day, the whole thing.
Patti asked about style and we worked on getting the cross over in the hop backs as well as keeping the rock nice and tight. For myself I’m working on doing a full hop rather than a lazy (sean-nós) heel drop.
We also talked about dancers who have great old-style form and style. Jackie O’Riely, Kieran Jordan, Céline Tubridy, Michael Tubridy and Pádraig McEneany. Here are a few reference videos for style. I have put a few videos for style reference. I will keep looking for nice examples.
Tuesday June 7, 2022 – Maggie Pickie, Priest in his Boots and St. Patrick’s day. We danced all three dances twice in a row. It was 14 minutes of straight dancing. Sadly it didn’t get recorded. We will continue to work on endurance and adding more time as the weeks go on. It endurance the goal is to keep going and to prepare for a performance and situation where you will be dancing back to back dances in a show. Don’t worry about being perfect. As you dance and finish note what went well in your endurance session and what needs work. We are all coming out of 2 years on not performing so be kind to where your level is now and work on improving it. I keep a practice journal where I take notes of what was amazing and rocked and what needs improvement. The woodsheds and keep her lit sessions are where you prefect parts of a particular dance and get it slowly up to speed. Just keep at it and you will get better and better. When I have followed this practice session on a regular basis in the past I have been supper ready for a show. When I have not followed it quite often I get on stage and the band is playing much faster than I have been practicing or the show is longer than I have been practicing in a row and there are always surprised. The endurance sessions help you with as much before hand as they can.
June 16, 2022 – Maggie, Priest in his Boots, St. Patrick’s Day and Old-style hornpipes.
